NHL: Rangers edge Thrashers in goaltender duel
{{date|April 14, 2007}}

''Rangers lead series 2-0. (Best of Seven)''

{{MatchScore|New York Rangers|2|1|Atlanta Thrashers}}

{{Stanley Cup Playoffs 2007}}

The [[w:Atlanta Thrashers|Thrashers']] [[w:Johan Hedberg|Johan Hedberg]] and the [[w:New York Rangers|Rangers']] [[w: Henrik Lundqvist|Henrik Lundqvist]] put on goaltending clinics Saturday night, but it would be Lundqvist that had the last laugh as the Atlanta Thrashers fell to the New York Rangers 2-1 before 18,803 at [[w:Philips Arena|Philips Arena]] in [[w:Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta, Georgia]]. Hedberg would win the first star of the game, earning a .949 save percentage, but Lundqvist would win the game, holding Atlanta to just one goal, while stopping 27 of 28 shots. The Thrashers, playing in just their second postseason contest in club history, dating back to 1997, are under pressure to win after going down in the series by two games.

New York's [[w:Sean Avery|Sean Avery]] scored the only goal of the first two periods at 8:08 in the first. The scoresheet would remain blank until the third period, when at 5:35, [[w:Illya Kovalchuk|Illya Kovalchuk]] scored Atlanta's only goal of the contest to tie the score, 1-1. The score would remain tied until 15:59, when New York's [[w:Brendan Shanahan|Brendan Shanahan]] beat Hedberg for the game winning goal.

== Scoring Summary ==
{| border=1 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 style="margin: 1em 1em ; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; width:98%; border-bottom: none;" align=center
!colspan="7" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-collapse: collapse; border-top: none;"|<center>Scoring Summary</center>
|- style="background: #e9e9e9"   
! No. !! Period !! Time !! Team !! Scorer (No.) !! Assists !! Score
|- 
|1 || 1st || 8:08 || NYR || Sean Avery (1) || Martin Straka, Fedor Tyutin|| 1-0
|-
|2 || 3rd || 5:35 || ATL || Ilya Kovalchuk (1) || Keith Tkachuk || 1-1
|-
|3 || 3rd || 15:59 ||NYR|| Brendan Shanahan (1) || Sean Avery, Fedor Tyutin|| 2-1
|}

== Goaltending ==
{| border=1 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 style="margin: 1em 1em ; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; width:98%; border-bottom: none;" align=center
!colspan="7" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-collapse: collapse; border-top: none;"|<center>Goaltending</center>
|- style="background: #e9e9e9"   
! Team !! Player !! Shots !! Saves !! Save Pct. !!
|- 
|NYR || Henrik Lundqvist || 28 || 27 || .964
|-
|ATL|| Johan Hedberg || 39 || 37 || .949
|-
|}

== Three Stars of the Game ==
* '''#1''' = [[w:Johan Hedberg|Johan Hedberg]], G, ''Atlanta Thrashers'' - 37 saves, .949 SV%
* '''#2''' = [[w:Henrik Lundqvist|Henrik Lundqvist]], G, ''New York Rangers'' - 27 saves, .964 SV% 
* '''#3''' = [[w:Ilya Kovalchuk|Ilya Kovalchuk ]], LW, ''Atlanta Thrashers'' - 1 Goal

== External links ==
* [http://www.newyorkrangers.com Official Website of the New York Rangers]
* [http://www.atlantathrashers.com Official Website of the Atlanta Thrashers]
* [http://www.nhl.com National Hockey League Official Website]

== Sources ==
* [http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20062007/GS030132.HTM NHL Online ReportViewer - Game Summary]
* [http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20062007/ES030132.HTM NHL Online ReportViewer - Event Summary]
* [http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20062007/PL030132.HTM NHL Online ReportViewer - Play-by-Play]
* [http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/boxscore?gid=2007041428 Yahoo! Sports Boxscore - New York Rangers 2, Atlanta Thrashers 1]

== Wikinews related to this series ==
* 13 April 2007: [[NHL: Rangers slip past Thrashers in Playoff opener]]
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[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Sports]]
[[Category:National Hockey League]]
[[Category:Stanley Cup Playoffs 2007]]
[[Category:Atlanta, Georgia]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Ice hockey]]
Rangers lead series 2-0. (Best of Seven)

The Thrashers' Johan Hedberg and the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist put on goaltending clinics Saturday night, but it would be Lundqvist that had the last laugh as the Atlanta Thrashers fell to the New York Rangers 2-1 before 18,803 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Hedberg would win the first star of the game, earning a .949 save percentage, but Lundqvist would win the game, holding Atlanta to just one goal, while stopping 27 of 28 shots. The Thrashers, playing in just their second postseason contest in club history, dating back to 1997, are under pressure to win after going down in the series by two games.

New York's Sean Avery scored the only goal of the first two periods at 8:08 in the first. The scoresheet would remain blank until the third period, when at 5:35, Illya Kovalchuk scored Atlanta's only goal of the contest to tie the score, 1-1. The score would remain tied until 15:59, when New York's Brendan Shanahan beat Hedberg for the game winning goal.
North America United States Sports National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs 2007 Atlanta, Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Ice hockey